Fraunhofer Society

The Fraunhofer Society (German:Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e. V. — “Fraunhofer Society for the advancement of applied research”, pronounced[ˈfraʊnhoːfɐ]) is a German research organization with 67 institutes spread throughout Germany, each focusing on different fields of applied science (as opposed to the Max Planck Society, which works primarily on basic science). It employs around 23,000 people, mainly scientists and engineers, with an annual research budget of about €1.7billion. Some basic funding for the Fraunhofer Society is provided by the state (the German public, through the federal government together with the states or Länder, “owns” the Fraunhofer Society), but more than 70% of the funding is earned through contract work, either for government-sponsored projects or from industry.

It is named after Joseph von Fraunhofer who, as a scientist, an engineer, and an entrepreneur, is said to have superbly exemplified the goals of the society.